Sectional doors, as is known, have a single leaf, mounted sliding inside a pair of identical sliding guides, which at the side restrict the access opening to one compartment intended to be closed by the door (garage). The sliding guides have a substantially overturned L-shaped configuration and each has a substantially vertical lower section, secured behind the access opening, an upper section substantially horizontal or sloped with respect to a horizontal plane, normally fastened to the ceiling or along the side walls of such compartment, and a curved connecting section between the lower section and the upper section. The upper section of each guide extends towards the inside of the compartment by a section having a length substantially the same as the height of the door.
The leaf of a sectional door is usually made up of a plurality of substantially rectangular panels, each with a width equal to the width of the access opening to the compartment, articulated the one to the other, preferably hinged, along the respective ends or transversal edges. Such panels also have, in correspondence to the respective ends or transversal edges of the sliding means, e.g., of idle rollers, so as to slide in the above side sliding guides.
The sliding of the leaf within the side guides of the door is done by operating means of any suitable type, whether manual or automatic, which allow obtaining the sliding of the above panels within the sliding guides partially vertical, curved and horizontal or almost, so as to free or obstruct access to the above compartment. A sectional door, in fact, can be moved from a completely closed position wherein the panels making up the leaf are all arranged along a substantially vertical plane in correspondence to the opening of the compartment, to a completely open position, wherein the panels are supported by the upper section of the sliding guides fastened in correspondence to the ceiling.
A sectional door, unlike the known swinging doors, during the movement between a closed position and an open position or vice versa, does not protrude outside the access opening. Such prerogative of sectional doors is however accompanied by a number of drawbacks. Among these, the fact that each upper section of the sliding guides of the sectional doors must be fastened to the ceiling or laterally to the walls of the compartment by means of cumbersome and ugly supporting structures which also require, among other things, fairly long installation and fitting times. Again, the sectional doors, once opened, have their leaf arranged along a relatively large portion of the ceiling of the compartment, usually a garage or warehouse, which reduces the room available in such compartment.
It appears evident therefore that it would be a good thing to reduce the overall dimensions of the sectional doors when these are in open position.
The patent document GB 29,960 shows a different type of door, the leaf of which is split into a plurality of panels which can slide vertically along a series of vertical guides.
Once raised, the panels are positioned one by the side of the other inside a boxed member rotatable between a vertical configuration and a horizontal configuration, in which it protrudes towards the inside of the compartment so as to reduce the vertical overall dimensions of the door.
Also this type of door, however, can be upgraded in order to obtain a simpler, more rational, efficient and cheapest solution.